2006-07 SENIOR DESIGN PROJECTS

Vermeer/Link Seat Suspension

Aaron De Bruin, Tim Jabaay

Vermeer Manufacturing, an agricultural implement and construction equipment manufacturer in Pella, Iowa designs and builds trenchers for many applications. During the process of continuously improving their products they found that the operator of the track trencher may experience significant vibration when operating the trencher in very rocky terrain.

To improve operator comfort and reduce operator fatigue that can be induced by excessive vibration, this design team partnered with Vermeer Manufacturing and LINK Manufacturing of Sioux Center, Iowa to design a seat that would effectively reduce vibrations in all three dimensions in the trencher cab.

The project required the analysis of trencher vibration frequency data and the dynamic modeling of seat vibration with the isolation system in place. A prototype was built and tested on site.